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The Misfit Pack
The Misfit Pack is a non-traditional wolf pack comprised largely of vagabonds and youths. It was founded many generations ago by a group of yearlings who had lost their families and were attempting to survive as a pack. Things changed when Teila Ujure joined the pack and became the longest running member and one of few to make it to adulthood. Today the pack is home to vagabonds and lost youths with most members being under two years. They are guided by a small group of adults who are Teila's descendants. Current Roster Pack Lifestyle The Misfit Pack is considered a non-traditional wolf pack since it does not employ regular ranks and it is not created primarily by a single family. Rather, the pack is comprised of a core "family" and vagabonds who come and go. Most wolves come to the pack young and leave when they are old enough, but some stay for life. 'Behaviors' ''Mating'' Because most wolves in the pack are ruled by hormones or fleeting emotions there are rarely mates within the pack. Wolves can mate with whoever they please within the designated window (late winter/early spring), and raise pups with however many partners they like. Rarely are there any hurt feelings, although drama can at times erupt particularly during mating season. ''Challenges'' Strength plays an important part in mating and feeding, so wolves regularly challenge one another in short bluff fights to display physical superiority. Because there is a real risk of injured wolves being killed by the rest of the pack, often times these fights are like games of "chicken" - who will chicken out first. Victory can sometimes come at a steep cost, and so can losing. Most times wolves are able to issue self control. ''Open Trade'' The pack keeps its borders open to trading with neighboring packs and often enjoys forming mutually beneficial alliances. Visitors are treated with the utmost respect - which is expected in return - and sometimes even permitted residence among the Misfit Pack if they are offering training or guidence. It's also not uncommon for young pups to be given as gifts to other packs (it lessons the burden of hunting while also giving pups a chance at a more stable future). 'Laws' ''Tooth & Claw'' Within the Base Tier, and loosely in Top Tier, if you can fight for your right, you earn your right. If you want to eat first, fight for the position. If you don't want to be pushed around, stand up for yourself. However, this law also extends to everyday life. Trespassers are killed or driven out - unless they are seeking refuge. ''Survival of the Fittest'' All wolves must bring something to the pack. If a wolf comes to the pack injured they are either driven out or killed as they are considered a drain on what little resources are available. Wolves who remain in the pack and become injured are cared for only if the pack has the means. Injured wolves eat last and are basically the lowest on the totem pole in regards to everything. ''Respect Life'' Although only the strongest may earn their survival, there is a great respect of healthy life within the pack and for the pack as a whole. Every wolf is to cherish their life and the lives of those around them. Killing for sport, pleasure, or competition is strictly forbidden as less numbers means less hunters means less food for the packs survival. Similarly, all wolves must bring some sort of skill to the pack. If you can't hunt, you better be able to guard/fight. If you can't fight, better be a pupsitter or wetnurse. No skills or usefulness? Better find someplace else to live. ''Needs of the Many'' The pack as a whole is considered far more important than any one individual member. Most of the wolves in the Misfit Pack are here because the only other option is death by starvation or the trials of bein a lone wolf. Even the Mother may turn down her own children if they risk slowing down the pack. Without the pack, the individual cannot survive. Hierarchy For the most part, hierarchy is determined by 3 things (in this order): relation to the Mother family, seniority, and strength. The longer your wolf is part of the pack, the more say you have in things and the more respect you've earned. Since the Mother family of Ujure has been in the pack the longest and maintains lead position, relation to them in adults also brings you fairly high on the totem pole. Lastly strength is what determins unofficial rankings among the base tier. If you're stronger, you eat first, because you can fight for that position. 'The Mother' This rank is only held by daughters of the Ujure family related to Teila. Mother's act as the title suggests; they are responsible for nurturing, guiding, and caring for the pack. Although their word isn't "law" by any means, most wolves in the pack who are senior members have come to respect this family and through a lifetime of close relations, follow after her guidence. Mothers usually earn their position by showing a desire to help the pack, participating, and of course being related to the previous Mother. 'Top Tier' This could be any number of wolves, but normally, Top Tier wolves comprise those who have been in the pack the longest. They know the lay of the land, have experience in age in most cases, and have been in the pack since birth or for at least a few years. Mostly these wolves are of adult age (2 or older) and are friends with the Mother and her family. 'Base Tier' This is the rest of the pack, wolves who come and go, or wolves under 2 years of age. Base Tier wolves can have unofficial ranks among themselves based on strength or wisdom, but for the most part, there is nothing really that distinguishes them from one another. Usually Base Tier wolves end up leaving the pack by adulthood. Those who decide to remain after adulthood, or who have been in the pack for more than a few years, if they have the respect of other members and have been good team players, can ascend to Top Tier. Founding History In the aftermath of a great fire, seven young wolves banded together to try and survive the harsh world they were orphaned into. As they traveled to find a lush land, they took in other abandoned pups and yearlings, traveling together until they found the verdant rocky forests that would be the packs future homeland. Unfortunately, these children were not equipped for survival on their own. The eldest sister of the original band of pups, Rainshadow, tried her best to lead them by teaching them to hunt though she herself had no experience. They turned to scavenging which was hard during the winter. Most of them starved to death by the Spring thaw. Yet Rainshadow was determined to help them survive. She practiced hunting, and roamed far and wide to find food for the rest of the pack now made of four. Over time she found more wolves to join her, other youngsters. And though Winter continued to take more of them, she remained determined. 'Start of a New Era' As most others who joined the pack, Teila Ujure happened upon them after she herself had been orphaned. Rainshadow had already died, and instead the pack was under control by a manipulative older female who was using the young wolves to make her life easier. Though they knew they were being used, many of them were a fraid of dying and so did what they were told. Teila, unafraid, killed the female in her sleep when she was off guard. She freed the pack and once again returned it to the children. Although Teila did not consider herself a leader and never acted on the title, her beauty and grace granted her popularity among the other wolves. By now the pack had a fair number of wolves: *Vandal, a serious humorless wolf who often considered himself the "leader" though nobody followed him. *Tobi, a very businesslike female who, despite her desire for efficiency, is very kind and opposed to violence. *Sasser, a huge airhead who often gets into trouble and idolizes Teila and tries to "be like her" by being bossy. *Hatori, a sweet boy but extremely girl-crazy and has no control over his most basic emotions. *Halo, a good natured but woefully submissive male who often gets on the other wolves nerves. *Sharingan, a somewhat cccentric wolf who often comes and goes and is slightly infatuated with Teila. *Anthrax, a refugee of war who is also quite bizarre, comical, and abnormal and has litttle control over himself. *Rumor, she's arrogant and presumptuous, plus a huge flirt, and secretly dislikes Teila for her popularity. 'Teila's Reign' Although she never wanted to become leader, as Teila grew older she learned many hard lessons along with the rest of the pack. She whelped impulsively, fell in and out of love with various members of the pack, and lost friends and pups to their poor survival skills. It all became too much. Then, finally, one day, Teila gathered the wolves in a meeting and declared that they needed to change if they wanted to survive. Most of them agreed, but didn't know what to do. She suggested that mating only happen in the winter so pups would be born by spring. Not all of the males agreed, but Teila wasn't about to force anyone to do anything. "If you want to watch your pups die, fine, go ahead. But I'm tired of it!" She declared. Sadly for the males, the females agreed. Teila also suggested that, after some trial and error, they work on a hunting strategy and all hunt together rather than hunting individually, to bring down enough food for all of them. With just these few changes the pack saw a noticeable improvement! Less pups died in the winter, as most were old enough and hearty enough come the first snows to survive. They also began hunting as a group and building on failures until they were huntinc succesfully. Even as more wolves joined them, no matter their age, they were required to hunt and not permitted to breed except at the end of the winter season. 'Present Day' Teila reigned over the Misfit Pack until she herself died of old age. The pack was inherited by one of Teila and Vandal's daughters, Fergi. Fergi has the same passion and desire to help the pack as her mother did, and they continue to take in refugees and orphans. Many young wolves leave the pack once they are adults to find more stable packs and over time the Misfit Pack is seen as a sort of safe haven for orphans and a stepping stone for younger wolves trying to survive.